Project Management Certificate

Through this program, you will develop the mindset, skills and tools of project management and creative problem-solving (CPS) and be able to:

• Identify and apply the FourSight Thinking Profile to strengthen team synergy
• Shift to a project-orientated mindset to produce short-term, mid-term and long-term strategic and project goals
• Understand the differences between predictive, agile and hybrid approaches to project management
• Understand the steps of the CPS process
• Create and sustain a participatory environment that increases engagement among external entities, internal departments, team members and stakeholders
• Generate requirements and criteria for evaluating project success
• Create a work breakdown structure with specifications
• Design a project schedule with activities, durations and interdependencies
  
• Delineate, assign and track project resources and associated costs
• Identify the real problems inhibiting project success
• Apply processes to better assess risk, estimate cost and schedule requirements
• Understand different contract types and their impact on a project
• Identify, capture and analyze metrics used in controlling a project
• Understand the leadership competencies of successful project managers, including the ability to build successful teams and deal with issues that affect performance
• Apply project management tools to avoid some of the most common problems that plague today’s project manager
  

The Project Management certificate course is for professionals of all levels who wish to increase their project management acumen and become more sophisticated in their approach to leading project teams and solving the problems they encounter.

The program satisfies the 23 and 35 contact hours required to apply for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) and Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, respectively. The content is based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge and the Agile Practice Guide, which serve as the foundation for the CAPM and PMP exam. While this course is not specifically intended to prepare you to take the CAPM or PMP exams, it will provide you exposure to concepts the exams cover, as well as the opportunity to network with other aspiring PMPs on the road to certification.

• FourSight Thinking Profile – the leading assessment helping individuals and teams understand how they approach problems and innovation
• The creative problem-solving process
• Divergent and convergent thinking, as well as combining ideas across areas of knowledge
  
• Ten problem-solving tools
• Project templates and charters
  
• Management of project integration, scope, schedules, cost, resources, risk, quality, communications, procurement and stakeholders
• Final project management review
• Disciplined agile

• PC (Windows-based) or Mac
• Class sessions are delivered via Zoom, therefore robust internet access and functional knowledge of the platform is required. Firefox or Chrome are recommended.
• MS Office, including functional knowledge of MS Word and Excel

This program consists of 12 three-hour interactive Zoom sessions. In teams, you will develop a comprehensive project plan and apply principles of creative problem-solving to project needs. Content will be delivered through short cases, articles and online resources.

Teresa Lawrence, PhD, PMP, CSM

Education
PMP Certification
BA, EdM, PhD, University at Buffalo

Lawrence is an industry leader in integrating creativity and creative problem-solving into project management. President and owner of International Deliverables, a New York State-certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise, she provides training and consultation to organizations seeking to develop a project-orientated mindset and establish a project management and problem-solving culture, and to individuals seeking PMP certification training. Since 2017, more than 75,000 individuals and teams have participated in Lawrence’s workshops, presentations and webinars.

As part of the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) SeminarsWorld series, Lawrence trains project managers around the world on the highly sought-after skill of creative problem-solving and how it relates to project management. She is an active contributor on ProjectManagement.com and a former board member of the PMI Buffalo chapter.

Lawrence was identified by Business First as a Western New York Woman of Influence and by the UB Graduate School of Education as its 2016 Distinguished Alumni honoree. Lawrence is a certified Project Management Professional and an alumna of the International Center for Studies in Creativity. In 2019, her company received a Home-Based Business award from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Residing in Western New York with her husband Tom, she is an avid outdoorswoman who enjoys golfing, fishing, and hunting.

$1,450 includes all materials used for class

Payment can be made in two ways:

• Credit card
  
• Check made payable to UB Foundation Activities Inc. and mailed to:
  Office of Professional and Executive Development
  339 Jacobs Management Center
  Buffalo, NY 14260

A 75% discount is available to a limited number of Executive MBA alumni through the Alumni Advantage program. Availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact the Office of Professional and Executive Development at mgt-ced@buffalo.edu.

Program registrations are fully refundable until the day before the program starts.